
The Federal Election Commission, or FEC, is an independent regulatory agency established in 1975 to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the US House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency. The FEC's mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and enforcing federal campaign finance laws.
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What You'll Learn
- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency
- The FEC administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act
- The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the US House, Senate, Presidency and Vice Presidency
- The FEC does not have jurisdiction over the Electoral College
- The FEC requires committees to list the name, address, occupation and employer of each individual contributor who gives more than $200 to a campaign

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency
FEC stands for the Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory agency established in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency. It is responsible for enforcing federal campaign finance laws, including monitoring donation prohibitions, limits, and overseeing public funding for presidential campaigns.
The FEC's mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly administering and enforcing federal campaign finance laws. The Commission requires federal political committees to file periodic campaign finance reports disclosing their receipts and disbursements. These reports must include the name, address, occupation, and employer for each individual contributor who gives more than $200 to a campaign during an election cycle. The FEC also has exclusive jurisdiction over the civil enforcement of federal campaign finance law and makes campaign finance disclosure reports available to the public within 48 hours of receipt.
While the FEC administers federal campaign finance laws, it has no jurisdiction over laws relating to voting, voter fraud and intimidation, ballot access, or election results. The FEC also has no jurisdiction over the Electoral College; the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating activities related to the Electoral College vote for President.
The FEC was established as part of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which was first introduced in 1971 to institute more stringent disclosure requirements for federal candidates, political parties, and political action committees (PACs). However, without a central administrative authority, the campaign finance laws were challenging to enforce. In 1974, following reports of serious financial abuses in the 1972 presidential campaign, Congress amended the Act to set limits on contributions and establish the FEC as an independent agency to enforce these laws.
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The FEC administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act
FEC stands for the Federal Election Commission, an independent regulatory agency established in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency. It is responsible for enforcing federal campaign finance laws, including monitoring donation prohibitions, limits, and overseeing public funding for presidential campaigns.
The FEC's mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws. It does this through a variety of means, including:
- Setting campaign contribution limits for individuals and groups
- Administering the reporting system for campaign finance disclosure, where committees must disclose the name, address, occupation, and employer for each individual contributor who gives more than $200 to a campaign during an election cycle
- Making campaign finance disclosure reports available to the public within 48 hours of receipt, while prohibiting the use of individual contributor information for soliciting contributions or any commercial purpose
- Investigating and prosecuting violations, typically initiated by complaints from candidates, parties, watchdog groups, and the public
- Auditing a limited number of campaigns and organizations for compliance
- Administering the presidential public funding programs for presidential candidates
It is important to note that the FEC has no jurisdiction over the laws relating to voting, voter fraud and intimidation, ballot access, or election results. Enforcement cases are primarily handled by the Office of General Counsel and are known as Matters Under Review (MURs).
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The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the US House, Senate, Presidency and Vice Presidency
FEC stands for the Federal Election Commission. It is an independent regulatory agency that was established in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the US House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency. This includes monitoring donation prohibitions, setting contribution limits, and overseeing public funding for presidential campaigns.
The FEC's mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws. To achieve this, the FEC requires federal political committees to file periodic campaign finance reports disclosing their receipts and disbursements. These reports must include the name, address, occupation, and employer for each individual contributor who gives more than $200 to the campaign during an election cycle. The FEC makes these campaign finance disclosure reports available to the public within 48 hours of receipt.
While the FEC administers federal campaign finance laws, it is important to note that it does not have jurisdiction over certain areas. These include laws relating to voting, voter fraud and intimidation, ballot access, or election results. The FEC also has no jurisdiction over the Electoral College, which is coordinated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The FEC plays a crucial role in ensuring transparency and accountability in the financing of federal election campaigns. By setting contribution limits and monitoring donation prohibitions, the FEC helps to prevent financial abuses and ensure a fair electoral process. The public availability of campaign finance disclosure reports also enables voters to make informed decisions and hold candidates accountable for their funding sources and spending.
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The FEC does not have jurisdiction over the Electoral College
The FEC, or Federal Election Commission, is an independent regulatory agency established in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency. Its mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws.
The FEC has exclusive jurisdiction over the civil enforcement of federal campaign finance law. This includes monitoring donation prohibitions, limits, and overseeing public funding for presidential campaigns. While the FEC does have broad powers, it does not have jurisdiction over the Electoral College. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating activities of States and Congress regarding the Electoral College vote for President.
The FEC also does not have jurisdiction over laws relating to ballot access for candidates, voter fraud and intimidation, or election results. State laws and procedures govern how candidates appear on election ballots, and the appropriate agency to contact for information is the chief election official in the voter's state.
The FEC has no authority to enforce laws related to the Electoral College, and any questions or concerns regarding the Electoral College should be directed to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at electoral_college@nara.gov.
In summary, the FEC is an independent regulatory agency with specific jurisdiction over campaign finance laws for federal elections in the United States. While it plays a crucial role in enforcing and administering these laws, it does not have any authority over the Electoral College or certain other aspects of the electoral process, such as ballot access and voter fraud.
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The FEC requires committees to list the name, address, occupation and employer of each individual contributor who gives more than $200 to a campaign
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency established in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency.
The FEC requires committees to disclose receipts and disbursements in their campaign finance reports. This includes listing the name, address, occupation, and employer of each individual contributor who donates more than $200 to a campaign during an election cycle (or calendar year for PACs and party committees). This information must be made available to the public within 48 hours of receipt, although the use of individual contributor information for solicitation or commercial purposes is prohibited.
To ensure compliance, committees must make their best efforts to obtain and disclose individual contributor information. If a contributor does not provide the required information, the committee treasurer must make a follow-up request within 30 days of receiving the contribution. Committees are also required to maintain records of each contribution, including an image of the instrument for contributions by check or written instrument.
The FEC's mission is to protect the integrity of the federal campaign finance process by providing transparency and fairly enforcing and administering federal campaign finance laws. The FEC achieves this through monitoring donation prohibitions and limits, as well as overseeing public funding for presidential campaigns.
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Frequently asked questions
FEC stands for Federal Election Commission.
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency established in 1975 to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.
The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, Senate, Presidency, and Vice Presidency. It enforces federal campaign finance laws, including monitoring donation prohibitions and limits, and overseeing public funding for presidential campaigns.
FEC filings are documentation of payments made by political campaigns to various entities, such as media production companies and fundraising committees. These filings are made available to the public, but the information contained within them cannot be used for solicitation or commercial purposes.
















